Food Rights Network

The Food Rights Network is a non-profit, non-partisan research and advocacy project of the Center for Media and Democracy. FRN opposes the biosolids scam of dumping toxic sewage sludge on farms and gardens. It is FRN's position that no food should no food should be grown in toxic sludge.

The Food Rights Network released its first major investigative report on July 9, 2010 titled: Chez Sludge: How the Sewage Sludge Industry Bedded Alice Waters.

2010 Tests of San Francisco Sewage Sludge Find PBDEs, Triclosan
On August 10, 2010, the Food Rights Network announced in a news release that "Independent tests of sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant -- distributed free to gardeners since 2007 by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "organic biosolids compost" giveaway program -- have found appreciable concentrations of contaminants with endocrine-disruptive properties. The independent tests were conducted for the Food Rights Networkby Dr. Robert C. Hale of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences."

In an August 6, 2010, letter reporting on his findings to the Food Rights Network Robert Hale wrote: "A sewage sludge-derived compost from the Synagro CVC plant, distributed by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in their "compost give away" program, was analyzed for synthetic pollutants.  Several classes of emerging contaminants with endocrine disruptive properties were detected in appreciable concentrations, including polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants, nonylphenols (NPs) detergent breakdown products and the antibacterial agent triclosan." PDFs are attached here of the letter and the data:

Personnel

 * Lisa Graves, Executive Director, Center for Media and Democracy
 * Jill Richardson, Fellow, Center for Media and Democracy

Former Personnel

 * John Stauber, Advisor to FRN from May 2010 to May 2011. Co-Author of Toxic Sludge Is Good for You!

Contact Information

 * Food Rights Network
 * 520 University Avenue, Suite 260, Madison, WI 53703
 * Phone: (608 260-9713
 * Website: http://www.FoodRightsNetwork.org/
 * Email: FoodRightsNetwork (AT) gmail.com

Related SourceWatch articles

 * BioCycle magazine
 * Biosolids
 * Chez Panisse Foundation
 * Environmental Media Association
 * International Compost Awareness Week
 * Kellogg Garden Products
 * San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
 * Sewage sludge
 * US Composting Council

External resources

 * Food Rights Network website

External articles

 * Anna Werner, Concern Over SF Compost Made from Sewage Sludge, CBS Channel 5, March 3, 2010.
 * Josh Harkinson, |+The+Blue+Marble%29&utm_content=Twitter A Backlash After San Francisco Labels Sewage Sludge Organic, Mother Jones magazine, March 4, 2010.
 * Photo Gallery: Activists Praise Poop, Deliver Dirt to Mayor's Office, SF Appeal, March 4, 2010.
 * Chris Roberts, News Farmers Call PUC's Shit, Will Dump it on City Hall Today, San Francisco Appeal, March 4, 2010.
 * What SF calls compost, activists call 'toxic sludge, San Francisco ABC affiliate KGO TV, March 4, 2010.
 * Evelyn Nieves, Claim: San Francisco giving gardeners toxic sludge, Associated Press in the Boston Globe, March 5, 2010.
 * John Upton, The City’s free compost causes stink SF Examiner, March 5, 2010.
 * Jill Richardson, Food Sunday: Toxic Sludge as 'Organic Fertilizer', FireDogLake, March 7, 2010.
 * John Stauber, Waiter, There Is Toxic Sludge in my Organic Soup!, PRWatch.org, March 16, 2010.
 * Brady Welch, Shit show: What has the SFPUC has been dumping in city gardens?, San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 23, 2010.
 * Organic Consumers Association, The Organic Consumers Association To Picket Chez Panisse Restaurant on Thursday, April 1st, Noon, in Berkeley, CA Alice Waters, World Famous Organic Food Chef and Promoter of Safe School Gardens, Does Not Oppose Growing Food on Toxic Sewage Sludge, News Release, March 31, 2010.
 * John Stauber, Chef Alice Waters and Chez Panisse in a Toxic Sludge Protest, PRWatch.org, March 31, 2010.
 * Brady Welch, Alice Waters protested for supporting using human waste as compost San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 31, 2010.
 * Suzanne Goldenberg, US chef Alice Waters criticised over sewage fertiliser: Top US healthy-eating chef Alice Waters attacked for supporting fertiliser made of sewage that activists say contains toxins, UK Guardian, April 1, 2010.
 * Tracey Taylor, Toxic sludge demonstrators picket Chez Panisse, April 1, 2010.
 * Peter Fimrite, Groups make stink over S.F. 'biosolid' compost, SF Chronicle, April 7, 2010.
 * Brady Welch, The Shit Show's Extended Run SF Bay Guardian, April 7, 2010.
 * Jill Richardson, Francesca Takes Legal Action over Sludge Article, La Vida Locavore blog, April 6, 2010.
 * Jill Richardson, What San Francisco Found in Their Own Sludge, La Vida Locavore blog, April 8, 2010.
 * Leora Broydo Vestel, Food Groups Clash Over Compost Sludge, New York Times Green Inc. blog, April 9 2010.
 * John Stauber, ACSH Makes Alice Waters a Poster Child for Toxic Sludge, PRWatch.org, April 12, 2010.
 * Susan Galleymore, The Green Mayor Has Toxic Sludge on His Hands, Op-Ed News, April 25, 2010.
 * Barry Estabrook, Composted Sewage Stirs Up Bay Area Food Fight, The Atlantic, May 3, 2010.
 * John Stauber, Chez Sludge: How the [[Sewage Sludge] Industry Bedded Alice Waters], PRWatch.org, July 9, 2010.
 * John Upton, City's Compost Passes Tests, San Francisco Examiner, July 28, 2010.
 * Peter Fimrite, Study: S.F. compost no more toxic than others, San Francisco Chronicle, July 28, 2010.